The A&M men’s tennis team went 1-1 on its road trip this weekend, dropping their first match in Georgia then rebounding in South Carolina.
The day didn’t start well for the Aggies in Georgia as they dropped the doubles point for the first time this season. The only win for A&M came from Arthur Rinderknech, who defeated his opponent in straight sets.
The Aggies (7-2, 3-1 SEC) were able to get things back on track when they arrived in South Carolina Sunday morning.
Although A&M went home with a 4-2 win on their resume, it did not come easily. The Aggies were able to start on a high note by securing the doubles point behind the efforts of the pairs of Efferding/Szabo and Rinderknech/Catanzariti.
After falling behind 1-2 to the Gamecocks, A&M fought its way back into the match and didn’t give up another point on its way to securing victory. It was behind the play of AJ Catanzariti, Arthur Rinderknech and Jeremy Efferding that enabled the Aggies to win their third conference win of the season.
All three of the singles wins for A&M came in matches that went the distance, lasting three sets. The Aggies suffered a break in their winning streak but nonetheless exited the weekend with another conference win.
The A&M women’s team stayed home for the weekend and defeated the South Carolina by a score of 5-2.
A&M head coach Howard Joffe shared his thoughts following Friday’s match.
“The win today gives us a little bit of confidence,” Joffe said. “The object of the exercise is for the team to just keep getting better throughout the season. The ranking and wins will take care of themselves as we move along this season.”
It was important for A&M (4-3) to capture the home win Friday and secure a winning conference record (2-1). Unfortunately, A&M’s match Sunday has been rescheduled to 2 p.m. on March 24 against the No. 2 Florida Gators in the Mitchell Tennis Center.